1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connecting device. The field of the invention is that of connectors provided for “high pressure” applications, such as the removable junction of pipes in which gaseous and/or liquid fluids circulate with a pressure in the vicinity of 10 to 250 bars.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
EP-A-0 804 701 describes a connecting device, comprising a tubular body and an outer sleeve sliding relative to the body. Jaws equip the body, from which they can be radially spaced apart to connect a male connecting element to which the device must be connected. The jaws and the male connecting element are each provided with an engaging profile, complementary to each other, including threading elements. A sealing piston, slidingly mounted at the center of the body, is intended to be pressed against the male connecting element. A sliding ring, which can be moved axially independently and spring loaded, is arranged between the sealing piston and the jaws. This sliding ring can be engaged with the jaws, in the uncoupled configuration of the device, to keep them in the open position. Also, the sliding ring is mounted so as to be movable, during coupling, together with the sealing piston, to release the jaws and allow them to be engaged on the male connecting element.
Such a device has an insufficient reliability. More precisely, the locking of the complementary engaging profiles of the jaws and the male connecting element is uncertain. In fact, depending on the angular orientation of the connector inserted between the jaws, abutting against the piston, which in turn is abutting against the body, it happens that the threads of the opposite profiles are axially offset, which causes incomplete closing of the jaws that cannot be covered by the outer sleeve for locking thereof. If the threads of the jaws rest near the apex of threads of the male connecting element, on the side of the threads facing its mouth, this male connecting element is pushed back by the piston and moves axially until complete meshing of the threads and covering of the jaws by the sliding outer sleeve. However, if the threads of the jaws rest near the thread apex of the male connecting element, on the side of the threads opposite its mouth, then the engaging profiles have no possibility of relative movement in the direction of complete locking of the jaws. In this case, the jaws are in contact with the body, while the male connecting element abuts on the body via the sealing piston. The jaws are therefore insufficiently locked, ejected and the male element is pushed back by the piston once the operator releases the outer locking sleeve of the device. Thus, in “high pressure” applications, such a device poses a significant safety problem for the operator.